Merus’ (MRUS) Buy Rating Reiterated at Needham & Company LLC

Needham & Company LLC reiterated their buy rating on shares of Merus (NASDAQ:MRUS) in a research report released on Wednesday morning,Benzinga reports. Needham & Company LLC currently has a $85.00 price target on the biotechnology company’s stock.

Other equities research analysts also recently issued reports about the stock. Lifesci Capital upgraded shares of Merus to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Monday, July 29th. HC Wainwright reissued a “buy” rating and set a $85.00 price target on shares of Merus in a report on Friday, November 1st. UBS Group initiated coverage on Merus in a research note on Thursday, October 24th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $72.00 price target for the company. Canaccord Genuity Group reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $67.00 price objective on shares of Merus in a research report on Thursday, July 25th. Finally, Guggenheim boosted their target price on shares of Merus from $93.00 to $111.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 1st. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have given a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Merus has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $86.70.

Merus Stock Performance

MRUS opened at $42.93 on Wednesday. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $50.72 and its 200 day simple moving average is $51.92. Merus has a 1-year low of $22.26 and a 1-year high of $61.61.

Merus (NASDAQ:MRUS) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 31st. The biotechnology company reported ($0.95) EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of ($0.90) by ($0.05). The company had revenue of $11.77 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $9.11 million. Merus had a negative net margin of 680.61% and a negative return on equity of 38.89%. As a group, research analysts expect that Merus will post -3.89 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Merus

A number of large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Gordian Capital Singapore Pte Ltd lifted its holdings in shares of Merus by 10.4% during the 3rd quarter. Gordian Capital Singapore Pte Ltd now owns 5,000 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $250,000 after acquiring an additional 470 shares during the period. MML Investors Services LLC acquired a new position in Merus during the third quarter valued at approximately $206,000. Wellington Management Group LLP lifted its stake in Merus by 73.6% during the third quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 2,887,514 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $144,260,000 after purchasing an additional 1,224,573 shares during the last quarter. HighTower Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Merus in the 3rd quarter valued at $358,000. Finally, Holocene Advisors LP increased its stake in shares of Merus by 4.1% in the 3rd quarter. Holocene Advisors LP now owns 1,637,988 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $81,834,000 after purchasing an additional 64,122 shares during the last quarter. 96.14% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About Merus

Merus N.V., a clinical-stage immuno-oncology company, engages in the development of antibody therapeutics in the Netherlands. Its bispecific antibody candidate pipeline includes Zenocutuzumab (MCLA-128), which is in a phase 2 clinical trials for the treatment of patients with metastatic breast cancer and castration-resistant prostate cancer, as well as in Phase 1/2 clinical trials for the treatment of solid tumors that harbor Neuregulin 1.